Power plays truant in Gaya

Gaya: With power availability hovering between 0-18 MW for the better part of Friday and Saturday against the requirement of 60 MW, acute power crisis, the worst in recent past, gripped Gaya. Nearly half-a-million Gayaites squirmed in bed in sultry weather conditions as long power cuts and frequent trippings made night virtually unbearable. Patients and shoppers were the worst victims as power played truant.

The crisis also impacted water availability as both the municipal water supply system and groundwater pumping in non-service households suffered hold-ups. The locals cursed India Power, the franchise holder, as the company had earlier assured uninterrupted and quality power supply to nearly 1,00,000 power users of domestic and non-domestic categories.

When contacted, India Power AGM (administration) Rakesh Ranjan attributed the present phase of the crisis to non-availability of adequate power. The company has the franchise for power distribution only and there was no local fault or any other distribution-related problem, said Ranjan. The responsibility for making power available was that of Bihar State Power (Holding) Company Limited and India Power was only entrusted with the distribution aspect of power supply. Power Holding Company officials, according to Ranjan, attributed the crisis to the snags developed in some NTPC units. India Power will see to it that the power users have to face no problem on account of any lapse on the company’s part, he added.

Referring to the perception that India Power was responsible for the present phase of the crisis, India Power AGM said the company would reach out to the users and explain the situation. Asked about the mechanism to directly reach the power users, the AGM said that he had received suggestions about bulk SMS to the power users to update them on the situation and alert/inform them in advance about problems, if necessary.

The India Power official hoped that with the removal of the snags in the NTPC units, the power situation will soon improve. Ranjan did not give any specific deadline for the restoration of complete normalcy. “Power users have high expectations from the company and the company will do everything possible to fulfill their expectations,” he said. The India Power official claimed that the response time for local fault repair has drastically been curtailed and well-equipped teams of the company are engaged in providing round-the-clock emergency service and equipped vehicles are stationed at the West Church Road point for quick response.